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MR. BARRETT'S BALLOON.
^[[Morning Post. 1802 - handwritten in ink]]
TO THE EDITOR.
Swansea, Oct. 17, Sunday evening.
SIR - According to my promise, a fortnight since, I transmit to you facts relative to my intended ascent on Wednesday, the 6th instant, and my ascent on Friday last, the circumstances of which you will find impartially delivered in the following detail, viz.
I arrived in Swansea about eight o'clock on the morning of the 31st of August, with my wife and child, whom I brought from Devon with me to this place in the packet.  My aerostatic machinery, being under the care of a trusty servant, who was behind on the road, I waited in Swansea near a fortnight before I received any intelligence.  Having taken up my residence, the second day after our arrival, at Mr. Griffith's, the linen draper, in this town, during this vacation, as I had plenty of leisure time upon my hands, I put together a large Montgolfier, made of tissue pape, which measured twenty feet by eighteen in diameter, likewise a parachute, which was intended to be attached to the balloon, with a small car containing a cat and dog, likewise a pasteboard box filled with combustibles, and a slow match, which was to fire the balloon and burn away the cord which suspended the parachute and the two little animals.  We had every thing ready by the evening of the intended day, which proved exceedingly windy, so much as to render the filling of the Montgolfier extremely difficult, but which I accomplished by the assistance of some gentlemen of the town.
Just as I brought the fire balloon upon the stage, a gentleman stept up to me and said, "Mr. Barret, send up the balloon to-night, and you may get two or three hundred pounds in the town, all your success depends upon to-night; if you succeed you will do well here, &c."  I had the mortification to perceive a large hole just below the middle part of the Montgolfier, however, as it was of sufficient magnitude to contain enough gas in the upper part to carry up its own weight, and we found it made considerable efforts to ascend, I desired the man who held the lower end of the rope which suspended the balloon, to "cut away;" the machine ascended, but in a minute was checked by the same rope, which took a dozen turns round about the eye of a key through which it was passed, as a substitute for a block which had been previously removed before the machine was filled, on account of the pulley not working free.  The wind being high, brought the longest part of the Montgolfier parallel with the horizon which immediately took fire, and was in a few minutes consumed; here was a failure that I felt severely, and the more so as there were about a thousand people assembled on the outside of the Ball Court of the George Inn, which was the place fixed upon for my aerostatic experiments; however, chagrined as I was, this did not deter me from making (of the best materials I could get in this place, which was common printing paper, much too heavy) two other Montgolfiers, one about twelve feet high and fifteen diameter, and the other seven feet high, and the same diameter, exactly the same shape as Mr. Garnerin's cylindrical balloon, the top being spherical.  The first of these I sent up, after discharging two dozen of good maroons, and a few light balls; it ascended very heavily to the height of about 4,000 feet, and remained in the air till the fire went completely out, when it fell in the yard of a house about 200 yards from the place it ascended, and was brought me back again very much torn.  About one hour afterwards, I sent up the other, which was still heavier than the former; however, that ascended about 1,000 feet, and fell nearly in the same spot as the first, after being in the air about eight minutes.  I let off a few more maroons, and left the court for that night.  A few days after this, my large balloon, car, net, twenty tin tubes, and the rest of the apparatus, arrived safe in this port, and no other damage done except to the pipes, which were nearly shook to pieces, and unfit for use till repaired.  I found that the town seemed rather dissatisfied; but I began to think that as the sight of a proper aerostatic machine, with its apparatus, must be an entire novelty to some hundreds of the inhabitants, I concluded that to attempt an ascent would still be more satisfactory, and, in some measure, make amends for the disappointment occasioned by the non-ascent of the first Montgolfier.  It was very windy weather, and there was no covered building, or any other convenient place, to blow it up with common air but the Ball Court, which was high enough, but exposed to the atmosphere.
In this place I began to have it inflated in the morning, and after half a days puffing and blowing with a small pair of forge bellows, which had twenty holes in it, we got it about 7-tenths full; the day's exhibition yielded twenty-two shillings; at dark we pressed out the common air, and removed it to my apartments.  A day or two after I began to fill it again with common air, but the wind being very high, we again pressed out what air had been blown into it, and removed it to our lodgings: the amount of this day's receipts was four shillings, out of which I had to pay for workmen's labour, use of the Court, &c. &c. about four pounds twelve shillings and two-pence-halfpenny, and I had about eleven shillings left to pay it with.  As I had met with so little encouragement either to go on with any more Montgolfiers, or to attempt to raise the Aerostat, I began to think myself placed in a very whimsical predicament, not to say unfortunate; and, upon retrospection of my past expences, labour, fatigue, and anxiety of mind, as well as ill success, and the daily flagellation of the Gentlemen of the Type, put me almost to my wits end, to find out in what kind of mode I could propose to fill my Balloon with gas sufficient to take me up into the atmosphere; indeed it struck me once or twice whether it would not be more profitable to cut up my Balloon, and set up a manufactory of bathing caps, umbrellas, and hat-covers, of which I could soon have produced a plentiful stock; but again reflecting that my favourite object was not yet accomplished, viz. making an ascent into the air, I determined, at all events, to push my point to the utmost, accordingly I published hand bills, and solicited a subscription to the amount of 70l. This 
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would have been ineffectual, had it not been for the kind interference of Mr. Russel, and another Gentleman, as there were three doubtful points existing in the minds of the people, viz. 1st.  As to my being able to fill the balloon. 2dly. As to the possibility of getting subscribers sufficient to pay the expences. 3dly. If the balloon was filled, whether I would ascend.  However, the vitriol at my request was obtained by a Chemist of the town from Bristol and Neath, and Wednesday the 6th instant was the day fixed.  There were about 500 people assembled; I had been at work three days before in getting the casks, which consisted of barrels, hogs-heads, and puncheons, which were obtained with much difficulty and solicitation.  About eight o'clock on Wednesday morning I began to fill the balloon, but owing to a misunderstanding, which occasioned delays, the gass condensed while I was waiting for vitriol; at length I was necessitated to stop the process of filling for want of vitriol, after using eight bottles, or carpoys, and was upon the point of haranguing the audience, when part of the stage broke down, and several persons thereon fell, together with myself; I was no further hurt than falling on my thumb, which pained me for a few hours; a boy fractured the bone of his leg by the fall, which, as it was occasioned in some measure by the balloon as the primary cause, I acknowledge myself willing to pay for the setting of his leg out of the subscription-money collected; thus ended that day's business, which was very incorrectly stated in your paper, not to say malicious or ill-natured.  This day's business yielded me nothing except chagrin; however, I consoled myself as well as I could with the old adage, "that a bad beginning often makes a good ending;" and that there is "a time for every thing under the sun;" and though that time was yet to come, it might not be long before I should be able to rise above the clouds of adversity, and hold my head as high as any other aeronaut, either French or English.  While I amused myself with these speculations, I was all of a sudden cheered with the animating hope of accomplishing my wishes, and depriving those wasps who had stung me so often in the public prints of their venom.  By the kind assistance of the two gentlemen I before named, a formidable subscription was set on foot, the expence of a fresh supply of vitriol was guarranteed, and on my side, to prove to those gentlemen that I wished to render myself worthy of their confidence and esteem, I made no hesitation to say, that I would stake my balloon and apparatus that I would fill it and ascend, which was approved of, and articles of agreement signed and sealed.  Accordingly last Friday was the day fixed, and after getting the stage repaired, and all other materials ready the day before, we commenced the process of filling.  I forgot to mention to you that I had been occupied four or five days in re-varnishing my balloon with elastic gum varnish, which I prepared just before I left London, to render all secure, and prevent as much as possible a second disappointment.  This job was done in the open fields alternately, as the weather permitted - pardon this digression.  We commenced filling precisely at a quarter before ten o'clock; and by half-past twelve the balloon was sufficiently inflated barely to carry up my own weight.  About this time, a cask, which had been just charged with vitriol and water, burst and let out the materials: this occasioned some delay; as well as a smart breeze, which sprung up from the north-east, occasioned a rent in the lower part of the balloon, owing to the great strain of part of the net across the silk of the machine to keep it steady: we lost a great deal of gas; but soon repaired this trifling accident.  From the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient number of casks, we were obliged to empty and again charge the small casks, while our large refrigatory, consisting of eleven tubes and larger casks, were at work.  About half-past one, I went to my lodgings to get some roast leg of mutton, part of which I secured and put up in my pocket handkerchief, in case of descending where no meat was to be had.  I returned to the field; but in that space of time (about fifteen minutes) could not perceive much alteration in the size of the balloon, I gave directions for the car to be slung.  As our vitriol was all out, and the tubes flaccid, a little before three, I got into the car with fifty pounds of ballast, a bottle of brandy, and a pound of leg of mutton, and bread, flags, &c. all of which I threw out before the balloon began to ascend, but the bottle, and that went soon after to enable me to clear a hedge which the balloon got foul of: the populace then came up and bore me and the balloon upon their shoulders to the extremity of the field, when I found myself rising gradually, and for the first time in my life abandoned to a new element.  However, the pleasure I enjoyed in the prospect of the town and its environs, as well as rising amidst the acclamations and applause of near 10,000 people, was but very short lived, for at the moment I was whirling round my cap to take leave of the multitude below me, to my very great mortification and disappointment I found the balloon descending, which it continued to do until it lighted gently about four fields distance, after which it alternately ascended and descended for the space of a quarter of an hour, carrying me over fields, trees, and hedges, and sometimes skimming a few feet above the surface of the earth. Finding all my endeavours to reascend ineffectual, I got out of my cradle, and after opening the valve, the balloon which was now lightened by 130lb. ascended with great velocity, till it appeared not larger than an acorn, taking its course directly over the sea, where it remained stationary, but soon after met with a different current of wind, which brought it within six miles of the place it first ascended from, where it fell gently in the middle of a field, after being up three hours, and all the while in sight.  The balloon was seized by the country people, and cut through the middle to let me out as they alleged, whom they supposed nearly or quite dead.
FRAN. BARRETT.

A Galvanic Society has just been instituted at Paris, for the farther investigation of the properties and relations of the Galvanic fluid, and for its application to the cure of diseases.
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Mr. BARRETT intends ascending in his Balloon the first fine day from Mr. HOPE's pleasure grounds near Vauxhall.  To prevent a disappointment similar to the last, Mr. BARRETT does not intend making the time of his second essay generally known.
^[[[Aug 26 1804 - handwritten in ink]]
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